Influence of Topic Interest on Black Children's and White Children's Reading Comprehension

ASHER, STEVEN R. Influence of Topic Interest on Black Children's and White Children's Reading Comprehension. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1979, 50, 686-690. The present study assessed whether black children comprehend more of highthan low-interest reading material and whether the performance discrepancy between white and black children, commonly found, is reduced under the high-interest condition. A second purpose of the study was to examine the degree of similarity of white and black children's interests. Fifth-grade children's interests were assessed using a picture-rating technique. 2 weeks later each child received a set of encyclopedia passages, half of which corresponded to the child's most preferred topics and half of which corresponded to the child's least preferred topics. Results indicated that black children comprehended more of their highthan low-interest material. White children were similarly influenced by the interest level of material; thus the gap between white and black children's performance was not reduced under the high-interest condition. Analysis of children's topic preferences indicated considerable cross-race similarity of interests, a finding which cautions against overestimating the uniqueness of black children's interests when selecting reading material for black students.